evaluation of general food distribution in northern uganda: gulu ...

most and mothers observed the nutritional standards of their children gradually improving.Nevertheless the uniform and unchanged diet during so many years was expressed asinsufficient to maintain a healthy nutrition. Considering their traditional staple food and varieddiet IDPs explained that their needs included a more diverse food basket including suchnutritious items like sweet potato, vegetables and meat. It took them some time to get usedto new food items such as sorghum, cooking oil and split peas (the latter two not used in atraditional Acholi diet). As mentioned, the Acholi diet usually uses sim sim for cooking, whichcontains a more nutritious fat. The IDPs tried to supplement their food basket in various ways– amongst others by growing cassava in their gardens, but due to the tall size of the plant themilitary prohibited the production of cassava, which provided for camouflage for the LRArebels. These kinds of constraints have lead many IDPs to rely on the food supplies as amain part of their diet through the most difficult times in the conflict.Several IDPs have experienced receiving extremely poor quality food, including rotten maizeand uneatable beans 70 through the GFD programme. IDPs did however find the Corn SoyaBlend (CSB) useful. Mothers prioritised the CSB for the children as a substitute for thetraditional nutrients, which the Acholi diet prescribes for small children. CSB was howevereliminated from the food basket with the ration reduction. The sa me applies to cooking oil.Most IDPs use their food for household consumption (more than 95%). Only a ‘negligiblelevel’ (between 1-3%) is used for sale to acquire other necessities such as salt, lighting fueletc.Regarding food rations and food quantity: Across the board IDPs expressed dissatisfactionwith the reductions in food rations. In most cases the reduced rations, delays in delivery aswell as missing items from the food basket leave IDPs with food for less than two weeks andin the majority of cases one meal or less than a meal per day (see also Section 7.2. for moredetails). The 98% and 100% rations given to EVIs have suffered from reductions in cookingoil and CSB particularly since June 2007. Most frustrating to many IDPs is being left off theWFP registry after the verification process (discussed in Section 6.4).Apart from monitoring beneficiary satisfaction, reactions and complaints, NRC has during th eproject period not taken initiatives to supplement the diets or provide alternative nutritionalsolutions.7.1.5 Responding to ComplaintsIDPs complaints regarding food aid are regularly compiled in NRC reports and filed to WFPfor action and recourse. However the problems and demands of the IDPs remain. Althoughseveral stakeholders claim that IDPs have received multiple explanations and justifications toissues such as WFP print list problems, rotten food, the lack of cooking oil and the rationreductions, the Evaluation Team found that these had not been sufficiently internalised bythe IDPs.A complaint desk is set up after each food distribution. It is manned by volunteers, whoreceive and forward complaints from the IDPs, but otherwise have no autho rity to take anyother action. The normal use – one would think - of a complaint desk is that the complaintsreceived at the desk are handled or addressed and that IDPs get a satisfactory feed back.Nevertheless observing and visiting the complaint desks set up after the food distributionsand speaking to several IDPs as well as staff/volunteers in charge of the desks, theEvaluation Team found that the value of these desks to some degree seems to havewithered away. Complaints have been filed to WFP for ye ars without any major action orrecourse. The frustration or apathy of no response is showing amongst both IDPs andvolunteers, questioning the use/seriousness of these desks.70 In several NRC monitoring reports the expression about the poor quality food is ‘that it is not fit for human consumption’.27